Ulli Theeyal Recipe with Step by Step Pictures. Onion curry made with shallots, roasted coconut and spices which goes well with rice.
Amma makes theeyal at least once in a week..But the taste of it varies each time she makes it. It depends on the ingredient or vegetable which she puts in. Sometimes amma makes it with yam or with drumstick or pumpkin. She had even made theeyal only with garlic, if she has no vegetable on hold.
To accompany this dish, she makes another gravy which we call as Urundai Kulambu. She makes small dumplings out of ground green gram dal with some spices and simmers that in a mild coconut gravy. I should tell you this, it tasted so awesome with this spicy theeyal. My mouth is still watering. I will surely post that recipe soon.
She also makes some drumstick leaves thoran too. She always feeds me this when I was little and it tasted so heavenly.
About this Recipe
Theeyal is a traditional South Indian dish from the Indian state of Kerala. It has a soupy texture and is made with spices such as roasted coconut, coriander seeds, dried red chilli, and fenugreek. All spices are ground into a paste and cooked with vegetables in tamarind water.
In Malayalam, ulli refers to small onions/shallots/sambar onion. Theeyal means burnt dish, referring to the main ingredient, roasted coconut, which is usually dark brown in colour and flavoured with tamarind. It complements rice and any side dish.
Ingredients for Ulli Theeyal recipe
Shallots :
Shallots are a little sweeter than regular onions and have a more subtle flavor. They are good used in raw applications where you want an oniony flavor without too much punch, such as in salads and vinaigrettes, , or in slow roasted or braised dishes, where their sweetness can enhance a dish without watering it down.
Coconut :
Coconut is a key ingredient in the dish, and it is added by roasting and grinding it with other spices like dried red chilli, Coriander seeds, and tamarind.
Dry Red Chilli :
Dry red chilli is a condiment that enhances the flavour and colour of food. It contains medicinal and homoeopathic properties. We provide red chillies that are uniform in shape and size. It is mostly used to season foods. The chillies have a strong flavour.
📖 Recipe Card
Ingredients
- For Roasting & Grinding:
- Shallots / Chinna Ulli / Sambar Onion-5
- Coconut-1 cup
- Curry leaves-2 spring
- Coriander seeds / Malli-3 tblspn
- Dry Red Chilli-5
- Oil-1 tsp
- For Gravy:
- Shallots-20 Sliced
- Tamarind-1 small lime size
- Garlic-10 cloves
- Oil-3 tblspn
- Salt to taste
- For Seasoning:
- Coconut Oil-1 tblspn
- Curry leaves-2 spring
Instructions
- Add 1 tsp of oil in a kadai and add in coconut and start roasting it till it gets light golden..
- Now add in red chilli, coriander seeds, curry leaves, shallots and roast till everything turns into dark brown..
- Let this cool down a little..Now take this in a blender and add in tamarind and blend it to a fine paste by adding some water.
- Heat oil in a kadai and add in shallots and garlic..Fry this for 5 mins..
- Now add in the ground masala and mix well..Pour in some water and season with salt..
- Bring this to boil and simmer for 15-20 mins until oil separates from this..
- Heat some coconut oil and throw some curry leaves in this..Fry for few minutes..
- Pour this over the curry and mix well..
- Serve this over a bed of hot rice and any curry..
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Ulli Theeyal Recipe Step by Step
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| Take your roasting ingredients |
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| take coconut in a kadai and start roasting |
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| roast till light golden |
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| add all ingredients |
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| and roast |
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| roast |
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| till dark golden |
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| let it cool a bit |
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| take it in a blender |
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| blend it |
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| add in some tamarind |
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| and some water |
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| make it into a fine paste |
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| Take all your other ingredients |
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| prepare garlic and shallots |
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| saute some garlic in oil |
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| add in shallots |
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| cook for few minutes |
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| add in the ground masala |
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| mix well |
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| pour in some water |
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| season with salt |
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| and mix well |
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| Bring this to boil |
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| simmer until oil separates |
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| fry some curry leaves in coconut oil |
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| pour it in |
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| and mix well |
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| All done.. |
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| Serve |
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| a close up shot |
SavithaRaj's Spice Land
Very tempting and great presentation...
MyKitchen Flavors-BonAppetit!.
Luks Yumm and spicy.Luv it Dear.Nice clicks too.
Suja
Drool worthy theeyal..yum
Poornima Nair
Love thiyal...looks delicious!
Torviewtoronto
this looks delicious following you on google friends and facebook
keep in touch
regards Akheela
Yummy Team
Yummy ulli theeyal, perfect with rice..Am drooling here..
Manju
Really nice post.
After I went thru ur pictorial I felt like I also made it , just by reading. 🙂
Regards, manju
Santosh Bangar
spicy curry is mouthwatering
sangee vijay
this looks so spicy and yummy...no doubt a drool worthy recipe..
Priya
Omg, mouthwatering here..
Dzoli
Even from schallots you make a tasty dish:) Great:)
Amina Khaleel
wow... gravy looks delicious...perfect for a cold day...
Hamaree Rasoi
Curry looks so wonderfully prepared and tempting. Lovely step by step process.
Deepa
Hamaree Rasoi
Chitra
love the deep browm color....just the way it should be...love it 🙂
Kalpana Sareesh
so good cant wait to try it..
Amy
Mouth watering dish as always...
Pl link to new Event- Midweek Fiesta
Premalatha Aravindhan
wow very tempting recipe,luks so delicious...
Kadhyaa
never tasted thiyal before drooling over it..
Tina
my all time fav curry..perfect with curd nd hot rice...
Suhaina
wow...LOVE LOVvveeeE THIS to the core...My fav curry ever...waiting to see ur mom's other curry too...
Susan and Abraham
mouthwatering, regards susan of Chacko's Kitchen
Chandrani
Lovely rich colour mouthwatering curry.
Alpana
Awesome recipe......BTW what kind of Kadhai ( cooking utensil ) is this.....looks like an earthern one.....where can I find one like this?
Aarthi
Alpana...Thanks for your comment dear..And you are right it is earthernware...I found it in our near by super market.
Archana
Looks delicious. I enjoy looking at your pics and find that it much more eaiser to remember the recipe this way. Thnaks dont change that.
Hosting an event which I am calling Back to our Roots Also hosting for Nov’11 Veggie Food for the Month_Raw Banana.
expert contabil
This recipe sounds very good and i think it is delicious and it fits perfect with my taste. My opinion is that this isn`t a very hard recipe so i will try it very soon, thanks a lot for sharing.
anthony stemke
This looks wonderful, nice and spicy and a beautiful colour.
Thank You.
julie
looks delicious n yummy!!!I love ulli theeyal a lot..
Balakrishna Saraswathy
Just love the way u prepare the dish..looks yummy simply yummy dear:)
soujanya
REally looks absolute delicious...luv it!!
Sumi
Wonderful recipe...mouthwatering, love all the clay pots and vessels you have used in all your recipes:)
Rekha
I tried this.. came out very welle.. yummy.....
Anonymous
Hey in nagercoil whre can find tis manchatti eatthware..I need to buy
..b
Aarthi
@AnonymousYou can get it in lynns
fathima
If we want to add any veggies, can we add the ground Masala once it is half cooked? Or when we can add that Masala?
Aarthi
@fathimaAdd veggies along with the ground masala
Tina Chahal
I am your fan Aarti. You are a great cook and your blog is awesome.
Romila Vincent
hai, ive tried a few of your recipes n they r just fantabulous. my kids just enjoy my cooking now. every day its mom what r u going to cook from yummy tummy. can you post a recipe of the typical nagercoil sambhar, which has about 11 vegetables. thanks and best wishes to you
Anonymous
Tamarind juice or tamarind put in mixie
Aarthi
@AnonymousI added tamarind.
Anonymous
Yummy yum...very delicious!!